Clean Cut transcript
THE ROOKIE Season 2 Episode 8 “Clean Cut” JOHN NOLAN is loading bags of concrete into his truck bed and FaceTiming with his son HENRY. HENRY As much as I like watching you load the truck, I've got some studying I got to do. NOLAN And by studying, you mean? HENRY Mm, watching Lady and the Tramp with Abigail. NOLAN Oh! HENRY We do the whole spaghetti thing along with it. NOLAN Cute. HENRY So, what are you doing for your birthday tomorrow? NOLAN I'm tiling the bathroom. HENRY Mm. That sounds sad. NOLAN No, it doesn't. Besides, when you're the oldest rookie, you really don't want anyone knowing you're the older oldest rookie. HENRY I mean, you just broke up with Jessica, and nobody knows that it's your birthday tomorrow? NOLAN Yes, and that's the way I like it, so do not tell Jackson and Lucy. Promise me. HENRY You're a grown man. You want to spend your birthday grouting, that's your prerogative. NOLAN Yes, it is. (phone chimes) Oh. That's the boss. I got to go. HENRY All right. Love you. NOLAN Love you, too. Bye. (switching to GREY) Yes, sir. How can I help you? INT. CRIME SCENE, NIGHT - OFFICE NOLAN meets GREY at a crime scene that appears to be a law office, Alston & Meyers. Crime scene techs are leaving the premises, which has a yellow hazard tape across the entrance. GREY Thanks for coming in on your day off. NOLAN No problem. I'm excited to get started on my special assignment. GREY It's not a special assignment. It's a mandatory callback. NOLAN Oh. I may have renamed that in my head. What happened here? He's looking at a bloodstained section of the carpet. GREY It's a homicide, and a brutal one. At least two assailants, and the victim was a lawyer. NOLAN So lots of suspects. GREY One for now - building's security guard. He's in the wind. NOLAN (reading clipboard) Maynard Goetz. Want me to put out an APB? GREY It's already done. Just sit here and guard. Any detectives come back, make them sign in. Keep one boot in the tape. Dispatch will call you as soon as detectives say you can release the scene. NOLAN And when will that be? GREY Hour, two. GREY leaves and NOLAN finds a seat at a conference table. As the sun comes up, he passes the time with his phone, getting a "Happy Birthday!" from Henry time-stamped 6:00 A.M. It's been way more than an hour or two. INT. CHEN/WEST APARTMENT, DAY - LIVING AREA CHEN comes wandering out of her room. WEST is steaming his dress uniform in the living area. CHEN Coffee? WEST I haven't had a chance to make it. CHEN So, no coffee? WEST Not yet. Sorry. CHEN You know, Nolan kept me up all night from this crime scene he was babysitting. Look at this. Look. She shows him several selfies NOLAN sent to her phone. WEST Yeah, he was texting me, too. We'll get stuck on one soon enough. CHEN (gesturing to WEST's uniform) Class A's? WEST Yeah. Tim and I get our commendation today. CHEN Oh, right, for helping that family last week. WEST Mm-hmm. You know, it's it's crazy. Like, a few weeks ago, I thought I was gonna get bounced from the program, and now I'm getting an award from the Deputy Chief. CHEN It's pretty cool how quickly things can change. I'm really happy for you, man. WEST Aww. Thanks. Plus, Tim is gonna be in a really good mood today. CHEN I know. I'm really happy for me, too. She reaches for a carton of milk and finds it empty, gives WEST a "Really?" look. WEST Sorry. INT. MID-WILSHIRE STATION, DAY - GREY'S OFFICE GREY Let me get this straight. You're coming to me for an annual evaluation that's not due until December? HARPER I just wanted to get a jump on it. GREY Reason? HARPER It's personal. I figured I'd spare you the details. GREY Detective, I hear you. I really do. But it's called a yearly review for a reason because that's when the Paperwork Gods expect it. So, if you want me to file this thing ahead of schedule, I need to know why. HARPER Okay. Okay. It's for the judge. I have a hearing next week for custody of Lila, and a strong evaluation would go a long way. GREY Look, you came here untouchable. Let me level with you. While I'd fast-track reviews for most of my officers I'm not ready to do that for you. HARPER Okay. GREY Wait. I know you're trying hard with your daughter. At the same time, I can't ignore that you're still a wildcard on patrol. So, if you want this eval, you got to show me something different. HARPER What do you mean? GREY Meaning we ride together. You and me, and I evaluate you firsthand. But know this: I'm writing this evaluation no matter what happens out there. So, if you fall down today, the world will know. INT. MID-WILSHIRE STATION, DAY - KIT COUNTER CHEN It is a big deal. "Light of the City" award? I thought you'd be happier. I planned my emotional day around it. BRADFORD I don't do this for the medals and plaques, Boot. CHEN Yes, only lesser cops enjoy recognition. BRADFORD Exactly. CHEN Well, if it doesn't matter, turn it down. BRADFORD It doesn't matter to me, but it does matter to the higher-ups. Look, a good score on the sergeant's exam, this award could help me rise through the list of candidates. CHEN Fair enough. BRADFORD Jackson's dedicated an entire shelf to his award? CHEN He's building a cabinet from scratch. BRADFORD He knows how to do that? CHEN Nolan's helping him. INT. CRIME SCENE, DAY - CONFERENCE ROOM NOLAN's phone battery is down to 10% when he gets a call. It's GRACE SAWYER calling from the hospital. NOLAN Oh. Grace. What's up? SAWYER You know, the usual. NOLAN Snatching life from the jaws of death? SAWYER Close. I just pulled four Legos out of a kid's nose. NOLAN Four? Amateur. SAWYER No commitment to the craft. I mean, not like when we were kids. NOLAN Right. I never went to the hospital for anything less than seven. P.A. VOICE Dr. Sawyer to ER. SAWYER Shoot. You know what? I got to go, I just - P.A. VOICE Dr. Sawyer to ER. SAWYER I wanted to wish you a happy birthday. NOLAN Oh. Thank you. Ga- Uh, wait. You remembered my birthday? SAWYER I got a Facebook alert. NOLAN My birthday's not on Facebook. SAWYER Huh. That's weird. Anyway, uh, lives, important things. I-I got to go. NOLAN Grace. SAWYER Yeah? NOLAN Thanks for calling. SAWYER You're welcome. NOLAN Right. (as his battery level drops to 0%) Oh, damn it. He hears a sound in the lobby and goes out to see who it is. It's a man with an unusually equipped custodian's cart. NOLAN Sorry. This is a crime scene. ELLROY BASSO Better be. Uh, bioremediation. NOLAN Beg your pardon? ELLROY Crime scene cleaner. NOLAN Right. ELLROY You the log officer? NOLAN Yeah. Officer Nolan. Um, crime scene's been processed, but they haven't cleared it just yet. I can have someone call you when they're ready. ELLROY I'll wait. 90% of the job's planning anyway. You- (as NOLAN lifts the yellow tape) Thanks. NOLAN I would've thought 90% of the job would be scrubbing. ELLROY No. No. You go in with the wrong chemicals, you can make things a hundred times worse. The mix of body fluids and the the fabrics, even the ambient humidity, it all makes a huge difference. NOLAN Oh. ELLROY Every job requires a slightly different set of tools. NOLAN Very impressive. And how does one get into bioremediation? ELLROY Always liked setting things right, I guess. I walk into a tragedy. When I walk out everything is as it should be. I-I know people think it's a weird job for weirdos. NOLAN No, no, no. I get it. Your name again was? ELLROY Ellroy. NOLAN Ellroy. Nice to meet you. ELLROY Nice to meet you, too, Officer Nolan. He gets a brown bag out of his cart and pulls out a wrapped sandwich. ELLROY Hmm. (sees NOLAN's expression) You hungry? NOLAN Starving. ELLROY Half a sandwich? NOLAN nods, then cringes when ELLROY opens the sandwich but then coughs on it. EXT. STREET, DAY - PATROL UNIT GREY/HARPER A lady is stumbling toward a car, obviously under the influence of something. HARPER Whew. Well, it's a little early to become my first DUI, but it's Hollywood. Everyone's trying to be someone. GREY It's not a DUI yet. HARPER Nope. But it will be in - three, two one. The lady has opened the car door. HARPER pulls the patrol unit up to the curb and she and GREY get out. GREY Control, 7-Adam-15. Show us on a possible DUI, 6th and Beverly. HARPER Morning, Miss. Can I speak to you over on the sidewalk, please? STEPHANIE DAVIS What? Why? HARPER Uh, you just don't look like you should be driving. Have you, uh, been drinking a little bit? DAVIS Got me there, but I-I wasn't gonna drive. HARPER Oh, so you were just getting into your car because? DAVIS Just grabbing my purse. HARPER Mm-hmm. Your purse that's on your shoulder? DAVIS (delightedly) Ah! It is! HARPER Yeah. Uh, uh, I'm just gonna run a few tests to make sure you are actually okay to drive. DAVIS I'm kind of sick of tests, to be honest with you. HARPER I know. This will only take a second. So, hold your head still. Follow my finger with just your eyes. (to GREY) Horizontal nystagmus. (DAVIS keels over onto the sidewalk) … Okay. EXT. STREET, DAY - PATROL UNIT LOPEZ/WEST LOPEZ and WEST have pulled over a man in a car in a residential neighborhood. WEST Hey, hey! My dad's coming down for the ceremony. LOPEZ It's not a ceremony. It's a photo op with the Deputy Chief. WEST All right, still, it's a big deal to me. I'm proud of this. LOPEZ You should be. (to the driver of the other car) You know you were texting while driving, sir? TREVOR REED Oh, I just looked down at my map for a second while I was stopped at a red light. WEST (reading off the man's cell) "Yo, running late. Smiley face, smiley face, boat." REED Yeah, okay, the boat was a typo. WEST Yeah, it's so hard to focus on texting while you're driving. LOPEZ License and registration, please. WEST notices that part of the car's dashboard looks like it's been wrenched off and not replaced properly. WEST Hey, what's, uh, what's going on with your dashboard, there? REED Nothing. Came that way. WEST I doubt it. LOPEZ (to WEST) Looks like Trevor's on searchable probation for 11-300. WEST Narcotics. LOPEZ Sir, step out of the vehicle. Today. Step to the back of the vehicle. Arms on the trunk lid. Spread your legs. As REED complies, WEST tries to get at whatever's behind the dash. WEST There's a packaged powder in here. It's wedged up in there, though. At least a kilo. LOPEZ Surprise, surprise. Sir, give me your hands. WEST Can't get it out. LOPEZ Relax. They'll tear it apart, find out whatever it is. WEST Uh- A small cloud of white powder puffs out of the dash, into WEST's face. He straightens up, blinking. LOPEZ You okay? You got a little something on your shirt. WEST Thanks. (sneezes) EXT. STREET, DAY - PATROL UNIT BRADFORD/CHEN CHEN Did you invite Rachel? BRADFORD To the "Light of the City" thing? No. I told you, it's not a big deal. CHEN You invited her and she's busy? BRADFORD Out of town. CHEN Oh. Well, I'll send her pictures. (looking out the window) Oh, hey, 3:00. Skateboarder's about to grab that woman's bag. The skateboarder rides innocently past the woman. BRADFORD Swing and a miss. He's looking at the skateboarder when CHEN looks forward to see they're about to hit a car that seems to have stopped suddenly. CHEN Tim! EXT. STREET, DAY - ACCIDENT SCENE CHEN Whoa, you're bleeding. BRADFORD I'll be fine. You okay? CHEN Yeah. BRADFORD Get the flares out. Seal off the whole street. (to the other driver) Ma'am, are you hurt? SARAH MURPHY No. I'm fine. BRADFORD Control, 7-Adam-19. Show me at a traffic collision at Melrose and Gardner. Be advised, it's a city vehicle. INT. CRIME SCENE, DAY - LOBBY AREA NOLAN is watching ELLROY examine the doorway. NOLAN Coming up with a plan of action? Deciding what to clean first? ELLROY No. I'm grading the forensic team's work. Looks like Tip Johnson's guys. I give them a B-plus. NOLAN How can you tell that? ELLROY They swab for DNA and then lift prints, which is the correct way to do it. Gil River's team always prints first. And they work outside in. NOLAN That is incredible. You know the habits of all the FSU teams? ELLROY Most of them. Oh, look at this. Yeah. Yeah, uh, fingerprint powder here means someone was trying to hold the door shut while someone was trying to push their way in. NOLAN So, this is where it started. And obviously, they got in. ELLROY See the blood drops? If the blood drops are circular, that means the victim was standing still. NOLAN Wait, you can tell if the person was moving or not based on the shape of the drops? ELLROY Exactly. The faster they move, the more elongated the drops. NOLAN So, the narrow part of the drop will indicate the direction the person ran. ELLROY You are a natural! So, um, it started here. He's bleeding, he's running, he's bleeding. (follows the blood trail) A stu- stutter step. "Am I gonna get away?" They caught him. (looking down at the large bloodstain) He went down, and they beat him something terrible. NOLAN Looks like they dragged him. He probably grabbed ahold of the bookshelf and, pulled it down. And then - They enter an office behind the lobby area. It looks like it's been ransacked. NOLAN Wow. That's a $20,000 bottle of tequila. That's worth more than all the low-rent furniture in this place. ELLROY Maybe it was a gift. NOLAN You know, when I worked in construction, I never drove a nice truck to go bid on a job. Made the client think you were charging too much. Maybe he's just trying to hide his money. ELLROY Tequila will get grass stains out of white jeans. (wanders over to a desk by the window) Oh. That's not good. NOLAN Sorry, the gruesome murder scene just got not good? ELLROY There's blood on the windows, but there's not much on the desktop. NOLAN So, there was something on the desktop. ELLROY Uh-huh. NOLAN The victim was on the desktop. ELLROY You know what makes holes like that? NOLAN Those are nail holes. They nailed him to the desk. ELLROY And they tortured him. NOLAN There's only two reasons to torture someone. ELLROY You hate their guts. NOLAN Or you want them to tell you something. ELLROY Or it's a sex thing. So, three things. NOLAN I'm super uncomfortable. EXT. STREET, DAY - ACCIDENT SCENE OFFICER (to supervisor) Yeah, we're handling it, Sarge. It was Bradford/Chen. CHEN Man. That's a lot of cops for a fender bender. BRADFORD Officer-involved accidents are very serious. WALTER Someone's getting a day at the beach. (He takes BRADFORD's ID and walks off.) CHEN Day at the beach? BRADFORD Suspension without pay. One of the many possible discipline options. I could be demoted, kicked out of field training. No point in taking the sergeant's exam. (as GREY and HARPER pull up) And things just keep getting better. DAVIS (singing, in the back seat of HARPER's unit) 'Round and 'round, The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round - GREY You two okay? BRADFORD Yeah. Fine. HARPER Shop's not. GREY What happened? BRADFORD I lost focus. The car just suddenly stopped. GREY And the other driver? BRADFORD Uh, taken to the hospital. Might have whiplash. Possible concussion. GREY It's probably best you sit out the ceremony today. BRADFORD Of course. Can't have the Deputy Chief handing a plaque to an officer facing demotion. GREY I'll need a collision memo on this by end of shift. He turns away, but HARPER pauses to speak to BRADFORD. HARPER Given the liability implications, you should go to the hospital, in order to head off any questions about your fitness to drive. Have them do a full work-up and prove that you weren't impaired. BRADFORD Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks. CHEN I'm so sorry, Tim. BRADFORD Follow our shop back to the garage. Transfer our gear to a new one, pick me up at the hospital. CHEN Okay. INT. MID-WILSHIRE STATION, DAY - FILE ROOM WEST Arrest report done. LOPEZ Eager to get back out there? WEST Oh, I do have to add the CHP 180. (pauses) 180. That is so weird. It's like a full turn. He did a 180. Wow. I wonder if that was a coincidence or something that - LOPEZ Jackson? WEST Yeah? LOPEZ What are you talking about? WEST (babbling) Paperwork. Like, uh, formats. The data, you know? Have you ever really sat and thought about how much data we actually collect? Like, terabytes and terabytes of data our whole lives. Actually, we carry more data on our phone than they ever processed on Apollo 11. Fact. LOPEZ Why don't you come with me? WEST Where? LOPEZ Come on. WEST Why are you so rough? LOPEZ Come on. WEST Occupied. It's like an airplane bathroom. LOPEZ Let's go in here. She hustles him into an interrogation room and shuts the door, then pulls out a flashlight to examine WEST's eyes. WEST Hey, what are you doing? LOPEZ Look to the left. WEST Okay, look, you don't understand. That kind of computing power and all our data, we are just a few years away from being able to predict crime. LOPEZ Look to the left. WEST Okay. LOPEZ Now. Now right. It's like a couple flying saucers in there. WEST goes over to peer at himself in the one-way mirror. WEST What? Oh, my gosh. I'm high. On drugs. I did drugs. LOPEZ Not on purpose. WEST No, no, I-I don't do drugs. I've never done drugs before. LOPEZ Shocker. GREY (on radio) 7-Adam-07, go to Channel 2. WEST Oh, God. Grey knows. He knows. LOPEZ No, he doesn't, but he will if you don't play it cool. (into radio) What is it, Sarge? GREY You got Officer West with you? LOPEZ Yes, sir. WEST I'm here. (to LOPEZ, quietly) Sorry. GREY You'll be receiving the special commendation alone. WEST (brightly) Uh, from the Deputy Chief. Right. LOPEZ Why? What happened with Tim? GREY He's been involved in an incident. He won't be attending. LOPEZ Copy that. She switches off the radio. WEST I'm dead. It's over. I Is this what it feels like to be dead? It's not - It's not bad. LOPEZ Look. Don't panic. We'll get through this. WEST Look, my dad will be there, with the Deputy Chief. LOPEZ Give me your weapon. WEST What? Why? He hands it over and she removes the ammunition and hands him back the empty gun. LOPEZ 'Cause you can't have a gun if you're high. We're going to the hospital, get your blood tested. Keep your eyes forward as we leave the station, and don't talk to anyone. (as he stares) You can talk to me. WEST Copy that. LOPEZ Come on. INT. PATROL UNIT, DAY - HARPER/GREY GREY So, that was a nice gesture, giving Tim advice after the accident. HARPER "Team player" is a big part of the evaluation. GREY It is. But I have a feeling you would've did the same thing whether I was watching or not. Excuse me. That's my daughter. (answers his phone) Hey, honey. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. Slow down. What? You got- You got in where? Oh. No, no, of course I'm excited. It's a great school. Yeah, call your mom, and I will talk to you later. Hey, congratulations. Yeah. (ends call) She got into Cornell. HARPER And you don't want her to go. GREY We settled on UCSB. HARPER Ah, that's close by. DAVIS (in the back seat) I went to Cornell. Or was it Colgate? Whee! They turn a corner to see a large man with a bat, which is covered in nails. They get out of the shop and approach him cautiously. GREY 7-Adam-15. We have a 415. Shirtless man with a bat. HARPER Drop the bat. KEVIN I can't. I need to protect myself. HARPER From who? KEVIN Zombies! It's starting! They're everywhere! GREY Drop the bat, or we will shoot you. KEVIN I'm not gonna let them bite me! HARPER Hey. I get it. Infection moves fast. But we can protect you. Okay? Our car is armor-plated. They won't be able to get in. Hey, it's a hell of a lot safer than being on the street. But first, you have to put down the bat. (KEVIN complies) Put your hands behind your back. Palms together. Spread your feet. GREY Nice work. INT. CRIME SCENE, DAY ELLROY is showing NOLAN the various tools and substances on his cart. NOLAN And what's that one do? ELLROY Uh, the three B's: blood, bile, and barf. NOLAN Nice. And this one? ELLROY Oh, that's a proprietary blend from Japan. It's the only thing that will get brains out of a jute rug. I had to sneak it out through Guam 'cause it's pretty much straight-up cancer. Any guess as to when they're gonna release the scene? NOLAN No. It's getting kind of ridiculous. I mean, you got a job to do. I got a birthday to salvage. ELLROY It's your birthday? NOLAN Yeah. (into radio) Control, this is 7-L-9 at the Grand Avenue homicide. Any word when they're gonna clear this crime scene? NELL (on radio) Sorry. Homicide's all backed up. ELLROY Oh, I- I- Can I? (NOLAN hands him the radio) Nell, it's Ellroy. NELL Hi, Ellroy! Glad you're on this one. Sounds like a real doozy. ELLROY Oh, yeah! This guy evacuated out of every orifice. Uh, so, are you still planning that trip to Borneo - Hey, h-hold on. He returns the radio to NOLAN, who has spotted something in another hallway. NOLAN Nell, I'm looking at some blood outside the warranted area, leading to another part of the building. NELL Do you want me to alert homicide detectives? NOLAN Yeah. And Forensics, too. And let Sgt. Grey know - the security guard, they were thinking was in on it? They can cancel the APB. We found him. They've found him in an unfinished part of the area, lying dead on the floor. INT. SHAW MEMORIAL, DAY - EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT WEST What this place really needs it needs some calming music. You know, like, uh, monks chanting or, uh, those whale songs. That would be nice. LOPEZ Um, he got some powder on his face, SAWYER Mm-hmm. LOPEZ white powder, and - SAWYER You need to find out what drug he was exposed to. LOPEZ The guy we stopped had priors for PCP. SAWYER PCP is fat-soluble. I mean, that stays in your system for a lifetime. LOPEZ Exactly. And if you can hallucinate at any time, you can't carry a gun. It's an automatic retirement. He'll be off the force. SAWYER I'll rush the tests. LOPEZ Wait, you don't have to report this, right? SAWYER I'm precluded by HIPAA laws from discussing this with anyone. LOPEZ Good, if the test comes back positive, I'll fill out an exposure form, but, if it's nothing serious, I want to keep it quiet. WEST has wandered off and encountered BRADFORD coming down the hallway. WEST Imagine being able to stop crime before it happens. Mind-blowing concept that I've actually sat with for a few days. I pitched it - LOPEZ (to BRADFORD) Hey! What are you doing here? BRADFORD Nothing. (to WEST) I'm not following. What were you saying? LOPEZ Nothing. Just some sci-fi movie he won't stop talking about. (to WEST) Go wait by the elevator. (to BRADFORD) Are you okay? What happened? BRADFORD I rear-ended a citizen. LOPEZ Bad? BRADFORD She's in the ER. I don't know how it happened. It just - LOPEZ sees WEST about to get on the elevator and dashes away after him. LOPEZ I got to go. INT. SHAW MEMORIAL, DAY - EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT SAWYER is examining BRADFORD. SAWYER Everything looks normal. BRADFORD Great. SAWYER People get in accidents. Even cops. BRADFORD What do they call it when a doctor has an accident? SAWYER Malpractice. BRADFORD Well, we're both held to a higher standard for good reason. (seeing the other driver on a bed) How is she? SAWYER The CT scan came back negative for internal bleeding. We'll keep her overnight to make sure she's okay. She asked for you, when they first brought her in. She doesn't blame you. Go talk to her. BRADFORD Thanks. BRADFORD approaches the other driver and a man standing by her bed. BRADFORD How are you doing? SARAH MURPHY I'm okay. MIKE GARVEY No. No, you're not. Do you know how much this is all gonna cost? BRADFORD The hospital bills will be covered by the city. So will the repairs to your vehicle. GARVEY You just think that makes everything all right? MURPHY Mike, stop. BRADFORD No, i-it's okay. He has a right to be angry. GARVEY And I have a right to sue. MURPHY We're not gonna sue. You- He didn't mean to hit me, did you? BRADFORD No, ma'am. I hope you feel better soon. INT. LAPD REPAIR SHOP, DAY CHEN is checking on the damaged car. WALTER You got business here, little lady? CHEN My T.O. and I were the ones involved in this accident. WALTER Oh, right. The beach boy. He's screwed. CHEN Have you looked at the other car yet? WALTER Not yet. CHEN There's something I can't get out of my head. I-I don't remember seeing brake lights. WALTER (skeptical) Uh-huh. CHEN Can you take a look? WALTER Yeah, when I have time. CHEN (stubbornly) You've got time now. This is important. Officer Bradford is a 12-year veteran. He's been wounded five times in the line of duty. He deserves your respect, not whatever macho crap this is. (in more respectful tone) Sir. WALTER Okay. Let's take a look. (opens the trunk, checks some wiring) Oh. Taillights weren't on. CHEN How can you tell? WALTER The brake lights didn't work, because someone pulled out the contacts. CHEN Could that have happened during the accident? WALTER No, these were pulled on purpose. CHEN Why would they do that? WALTER Insurance scams. See it all the time. Get someone to rear-end you and collect the settlement. Maybe your T.O. isn't screwed after all. CHEN sees some red powder on the floor of the trunk. CHEN What's that? The powder? WALTER Ah. Looks like your victim's into all kinds of scams. CHEN What do you mean? WALTER Powder's, uh, red phosphorous. You know, the stuff on the tip of matches? CHEN Why would they have that? WALTER Well, if they're not cooking meth, arsonists use it to set fires. Harder to trace than gasoline, and you can make a fuse with it. INT. SHAW MEMORIAL, DAY - HALLWAY CHEN rejoins BRADFORD, who is done with his visit. CHEN Hey. BRADFORD Hey. You switch out the shops? CHEN Uh, yeah, but there's something else. The car was rigged. BRADFORD What? CHEN The brake lights weren't connected. This accident wasn't your fault. BRADFORD No wonder I reacted so slowly. The leads were purposefully disconnected? CHEN Yeah. And there's more. Sarah had arson materials in the back of her car. Clearly, she's a bit of a renaissance scam artist. BRADFORD Let's go talk to her. INT. SHAW MEMORIAL, DAY - SARAH MURPHY'S ROOM BRADFORD You rigged the car. MURPHY What? No. I didn't. CHEN Dash cam says different. So does a physical inspection of your vehicle. MURPHY You searched my car? I didn't give you permission. CHEN We don't need permission once it's been involved in an accident. BRADFORD I don't think you were trying to get rear-ended by a police car. Bad luck, honestly. MURPHY I don't know what you're talking about. BRADFORD Sarah, this is serious. Your vehicle's full of evidence, all admissible against you. MURPHY It's not mine. BRADFORD Then whose is it? Your boyfriend? The guy who was threatening to sue me earlier? MURPHY No. CHEN What's his name? MURPHY I'm not gonna tell you that. BRADFORD (reading her chart) Emergency contact, Mike Garvey. And a phone number. CHEN Just what we need for a background check. (cuffs her to the bed rail) So you don't go anywhere while we're running it. INT. MID-WILSHIRE STATION, DAY - FILE ROOM LOPEZ Stay here until I come back. WEST If I could just talk to the IT guys - LOPEZ No. No talking to anyone. WEST Well, look, maybe I am high, but these are still solid ideas. (off her look) Okay. I'm cool. I will stay here, and I will not talk to anyone. LOPEZ Great. She departs, leaving WEST talking to himself. WEST Get it together. You're gonna be okay. Just slow down and, uh take a breath. (catches sight of the copier; has an idea) What if the copier could copy your thoughts? He manages to get his head under the copier lid and pushes the "start" button. INT. MID-WILSHIRE STATION, DAY - OBSERVATION MIKE GARVEY is sitting impatiently in Interrogation while BRADFORD and CHEN watch him through the one-way mirror. BRADFORD I think you should interview him alone. CHEN Why? BRADFORD Because he knows I'm the one that hit her. He doesn't know you were in the car with me. His guard won't be up. INT. MID-WILSHIRE STATION, DAY - INTERROGATION CHEN enters the room and sits across from GARVEY. GARVEY I need to be at the hospital. CHEN Yes, sir. We'll get you out of here as quickly as we can. GARVEY And I wasn't even in the car. I don't understand why you have to talk to me. CHEN It's standard procedure. You can imagine the paperwork when an officer gets involved in an accident. GARVEY That cop should be fired. CHEN That is up to the department. (writing on a notepad) Do you and Sarah live together? GARVEY Yeah. Why? CHEN Do you ever use her car? GARVEY What difference does it make?! She was rear-ended. CHEN Yes, sir. If you could just answer the question. Do you ever use her car? GARVEY No. CHEN Never? GARVEY Never. CHEN So, you didn't disconnect her taillights to commit insurance fraud? GARVEY Nope. CHEN But you have committed fraud before. Isn't that true? Arrested three times, convicted once. GARVEY I'm out of here. In the hallway, he confronts BRADFORD, who has emerged from Observation. GARVEY I know what's going on here. You're trying to intimidate me. But it's not gonna work. 'Cause I'm gonna get a lawyer, I'm gonna come back here, I'm gonna sue you and the entire department. BRADFORD Little advice - if you can only afford one retainer, I'd start with a criminal lawyer. You're gonna need that one first. GARVEY storms off. CHEN Sorry I didn't get more out of him. BRADFORD Don't be. The point was to wind him up. First thing he's gonna do is call Sarah and wind her up even more. CHEN And then we see who breaks first. INT. MID-WILSHIRE STATION, DAY - SALLY PORT GREY and HARPER are offloading their suspects. GREY I've decided, Dominique can go to Cornell. We'll just move there. Ithaca's a nice town. HARPER It's 3,000 miles away. That's a hell of a commute to downtown L.A. GREY I can get a gig there. Luna's been begging me to retire from the LAPD anyway. HARPER So, you're gonna follow your daughter to college? That's not crazy at all. GREY This way, I am close by if she needs me. DAVIS Don't do it. My parents barely let me out of their sight. Drove me crazy. You got to let her spread her wings. Yeah. Fly! KEVIN Disagree. Got to keep your family close. Zombies take over the city, you got to be able to grab them and go. HARPER The man with the nail bat agrees with you. Just, uh, you know, take that in for a minute. GREY Don't forget, I'm evaluating you today, Detective. HARPER Yes, sir. (brightly) Ithaca is lovely this time of year. INT. MID-WILSHIRE STATION, DAY - HALLWAY WEST is expounding on his theories to NELL, who's standing in the hallway. LOPEZ Jackson? WEST And you'd be at the nexus of it all dispatching units to pre-crimes, and you'd use the copier to help you. NELL Hmm. LOPEZ Jackson! We're supposed to be handling calls. WEST Okay. Yeah. We were just - Well, we're just - LOPEZ Let's go now. WEST scoots down the hall to wait by a doorway. NELL Um, Officer Lopez? Just one quick thing? LOPEZ Sure. What's up? NELL It's about Officer West. LOPEZ Yeah? NELL I just wanted to say that he is such... an insightful thinker. I mean, did you know he was full of ideas? LOPEZ I did not. He's usually much quieter. NELL Hmm. LOPEZ Nice to see you, Nell. NELL Mm-hmm. INT. SHAW MEMORIAL, DAY - MURPHY'S ROOM BRADFORD Only one of you is getting a deal. And you want it to be you. MURPHY I was about to leave him. I went over to borrow some suitcases from my sister. I-I didn't know that he messed with my brake lights. I swear. CHEN Why were you leaving him? MURPHY He's gone over the edge. At first, it was just staged accidents. We'd shake down some rich losers for cash or set a few fires for a cut of the insurance money, but now - BRADFORD But now what? MURPHY He's agreed to kill some guy's wife for a cut of the life-insurance policy. BRADFORD And when is this murder supposed to happen? MURPHY Later today. INT. CRIME SCENE, DAY NOLAN Homicide is sending another forensics team. This place isn't gonna be cleared for hours. At this point, you might as well go home. ELLROY I'm good. Um, hey, I was wondering - what is Nell like? NOLAN Nell? She's lovely. ELLROY I mean, I-I've talked to her a lot you know, when dispatch calls me, but I've never met her in person. Is she pretty? NOLAN Yes. You know, you could come down to the station, meet her face-to-face. ELLROY No. I couldn't. Uh Um she's busy. I Um, I'm busy. We're busy. I couldn't. NOLAN Listen- ELLROY Nah. Ta-da. Happy birthday. He hands NOLAN a Twinkie with a single lit candle stuck in it. NOLAN Thank you. That is extremely thoughtful. ELLROY It's nothing. NOLAN Birthdays are important. This is a treat. It really is. You okay? ELLROY Yeah. I missed one. My sister's. Her last. NOLAN Oh, I'm so sorry. ELLROY She killed herself that year. Um, at my parents' house. NOLAN Ellroy, was that your first crime scene? ELLROY I put everything the way it was, but nothing has been right since. NOLAN Ellroy, I don't even know what to say. I'm so sorry. I had no idea. ELLROY It was a long time ago. Anyway, I think I am gonna take off. Uh, just give me a heads-up whenever they finally clear the scene. NOLAN Of course. Yeah. ELLROY All right. NOLAN notices something about a wall vent. NOLAN Hey, Ellroy, did you see this? ELLROY What's that? NOLAN This vent. The screws have been practically pulled out of the wall. What if the bookcase didn't fall down in the struggle? What if they moved it so they could look inside the vent? ELLROY Lawyers like this guy, they deal in a lot of cash. Maybe they knew he kept it hidden here, and they tortured him to find it. NOLAN Well, it wasn't hidden in the vent. This thing's coated with dust. Hasn't been touched in years. Must have kept looking, moved next door into the raw space. ELLROY I don't think they ever found it. He's looking toward the front of the office. NOLAN How do you know? ELLROY Because they're back. Two men with shotguns are entering the scene. When they start shooting, NOLAN and ELLROY both dive behind a desk. NOLAN returns fire as ELLROY tries to hide. NOLAN LAPD! Drop your weapons! (into radio) 7-Adam-9- Oh, no. (radio is damaged) Okay, Ellroy, you're gonna move to the raw space behind me. As soon as I say "Move." Ready? Move! NOLAN and ELLROY escape into a large unfinished space next door. NOLAN slams the door shut and starts dragging a heavy file cabinet over to block it. NOLAN Help me! ELLROY (helping) Oh, God. That's not gonna hold them for long. NOLAN All right. All right. Okay, um- Come on, give me your phone. Mine's dead. ELLROY Oh. I have a pager. NOLAN Seriously? ELLROY (indicating the dead guard) He probably surprised them when they were searching in here. NOLAN Okay. Now we just have to find a place to hide, till the cavalry arrives. Come on. Over here. He guides ELLROY to stand behind a large square pillar and hands him a metal pipe the size of a baseball bat. NOLAN Right. You stay right here. ELLROY By myself? I'm bringing a pipe to a gunfight? NOLAN It's better than bare hands. He hides behind another pillar as the gunmen break into the area. They separate and start creeping through the large room, looking for NOLAN and ELLROY, and NOLAN tracks them until one gets within reach, at which point NOLAN hits the man in the head with a brick he picked up from the construction supplies. The second man turns to aim at NOLAN, but ELLROY lets out a shriek and throws his pipe, startling the man enough to distract him so that NOLAN can get him in his sights. NOLAN Stay down! Do not move. Stay down! Facedown! Hands! Good work, Ellroy. ELLROY I'm glad I know how to clean the stains out of trousers. EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET, DAY A woman comes out of a house and gets into the driver's side of a parked car. Her back is to the man sneaking up on her with a gun - it's GARVEY. Before he can shoot, he's surrounded by LAPD who have been concealed nearby, as well as CHEN, who's posing as the target in a blonde wig. BRADFORD Freeze! LAPD! Turn around! Drop your weapon! Drop your weapon! Keep your hands up! Sidestep to the right! Keep going! Get down on the ground! On your stomach! Hands out to the side! Now, don't move! Mike Garvey, you're under arrest for attempted murder. (a beat) Nice wig, Boot. INT. MID-WILSHIRE STATION, DAY - PROCESSING HARPER It took long enough to get this going. You might be under the limit by now. DAVIS Yeah. Feeling pretty sober. GREY So, look, I know it's a lot. Let it be a wake-up call. Getting arrested might be the best thing that ever happened to you. DAVIS I'm not an alcoholic. You were stumbling drunk at 10:00 a.m. DAVIS I had a doctor's appointment at 9:00. GREY Bad news? DAVIS Not a good day for tests. My biopsy came back. Stage 3 breast cancer. The bar was across the street. I just wanted to feel… less. I wasn't gonna drive. I would never hurt anybody. HARPER 1.07. Just under the limit. GREY We're gonna release you, pending D.A. review. DAVIS Really? GREY Yeah. You deserve a little good news today. DAVIS Thank you. INT. MID-WILSHIRE STATION, DAY - BREAK ROOM LOPEZ and WEST sit at a table; WEST looks hung over. LOPEZ How are you feeling? WEST My head is pounding, and my throat's on fire. LOPEZ Sounds like you're coming down off whatever it was. GRACE SAWYER is walking past the open door, sees them and comes in to talk. SAWYER Hey. I was, uh, looking for Nolan. Since I'm running into you- WEST Not PCP. Please, not PCP. SAWYER It wasn't PCP. WEST Yes! SAWYER Or much of anything, really. It was horse vitamins and caffeine. LOPEZ It was bunk? But he's been high as a kite all day. SAWYER An allergic reaction can mimic some of those symptoms. And from there, the power of suggestion did the rest. INT. MID-WILSHIRE STATION, DAY - GREY'S OFFICE HARPER Dress blues? GREY Bradford and West are getting their commendations in a half-hour. HARPER Oh. Right. GREY I didn't have a chance to write up your evaluation, but you'll have it tomorrow. And it will be positive. HARPER Thank you. GREY You're welcome. HARPER You know, I wanted to say you did a great job with your daughter. GREY Yeah. The fact she wants to move across country speaks volumes. HARPER It does. It says that she's brave and confident. You gave her a home a safe place to launch from and retreat to. Same way you do for us. I hope I can become half the parent you are. GREY Laying it on pretty thick, aren't you? HARPER Yes, sir. Have fun at the ceremony. GREY Will do. EXT. FOOD TRUCK AREA, DAY BRADFORD and WEST are posing with their plaques while CHEN is taking a picture of them. LOPEZ is looking over CHEN's shoulder. LOPEZ Get it. BRADFORD All right. Okay. Yeah. That's enough. CHEN I told you, I need to get pics for Rachel. LOPEZ Come on, Boot. Buy me a beer. LOPEZ and WEST walk over to one of the trucks. BRADFORD You make that your home screen, you're gonna be running the Academy training course in a bomb disposal suit. CHEN I would never do that. It is now my lock screen. BRADFORD Listen, I wouldn't have gotten this stupid plaque if you didn't have my back today. So, you know, thanks. CHEN For what? Doing my job? NOLAND and ELLROY walk into the courtyard, talking. ELLROY Today was fun. I mean, not fun, but fun fun. NOLAN Well, the fun hasn't stopped yet. I'm gonna introduce you to Nell. ELLROY What? W-When? What? NOLAN Don't tell me you don't want to meet her. ELLROY I'd rather face off against another shotgun. NELL is standing nearby and turns when NOLAN calls her name. NOLAN That's the spirit. Hey, there, Nell. NELL Oh! Hi. I'm so happy to see that you're okay. NOLAN Thank you for everything. Uh, Nell, this is Ellroy. NELL Ellroy? ELLROY Hi. NELL Oh, I'm so happy to finally meet you in person! She gives ELLROY a big hug. ELLROY I'm good to meet you, too. I'm glad. NOLAN Ellroy saved my life today. Tell her that story. (going over to the table where the others are having a beer) Wow. Is this for me? GRACE SAWYER comes around the corner, carrying a wrapped present. SAWYER Did I miss it? NOLAN Miss what? (seeing the present) What is that? What is this? SAWYER Surprise. ALL Happy birthday! NOLAN You know, um - a year ago, I never would have believed this would be my life. I mean, new beginnings are rare, and rewarding ones, even more so. And here I am, surrounded by the best people I've ever known. And Lopez. (off her look) Just- That's just jokes. (lifts his cup) To us. ALL (toasting among themselves) Cheers! Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. WEST You want to cheer somebody? All right. NOLAN shakes the box. NOLAN What did you get me? SAWYER Take a guess. NOLAN A steamer. (grinning) SAWYER Exactly. Category:Transcripts